


Fighting Demons

by OrdainedCrownie



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-18
Updated: 2016-08-31
Packaged: 2018-06-09 05:51:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6892645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrdainedCrownie/pseuds/OrdainedCrownie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It has been five years since the massacre of her family at the hands of the Briarwoods and the loss of her brother Percival in the escape, Cassandra Johanna Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo has been sent by Asum Emring to return to Whitestone to investigate strange rumors of Whitestone Castle that has filtered through his agents. While apprehensive to return to the place she once called home, she has taken it upon herself to find the truth behind the rumors even if she suspects she will not like the answers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Confrontration of the Demon

**Author's Note:**

> Alternate Universe - Cassandra managed to escape the Briarwoods but lost Percival in the process and five years later as one of Asum's agents, he has sent her to investigate the strange rumors.

Cassandra pulled the warm scarlet cloak tighter and adjusted the scarf around her neck when the biting cold of Whitestone's winter hit her as she entered the deserted street. She glanced ahead only to gasp at the once beautiful Sun Tree was charred and blackened while it's branches looked more like elongated claws rather then the once luscious wood covered in beautiful white snow.

  
Is this what the ancient entity had caused to Whitestone as well?

  
Feeling like she was being watched by an unknown presence, Cassandra ruffled her cloak free of fresh snow before making her away towards the house she has been advised to rendezvous with one of Asum's contacts with vital information about the recent evens in Whitestone Castle. Cassandra shuddered when repressed memories tried to surface of the past of when she used to live in the castle with her family so many years ago.

  
She made a point to stick to the shadows as best she could in the daylight against the crunching snow. She paused briefly to slip into an alleyway and pulled out a map from her breast pocket checking she was heading the right way. While she knew Whitestone well from her youth, she hadn't been able to venture too far from the castle as she had been too young at the time to wander off on her own so things were still a little hazy for her.

  
Quickly shoving the map back as she approached the marked house, Cassandra glanced around for any sign of anyone watching but the nagging feeling she had felt following her earlier had disappeared.

  
Cassandra then turned her her attention to the door and just above the door handle she noted the small scratch marks of Asum's markings, indicating that this was the rendezvous point. Checking the door for possible traps she adjusted her glove and rapped on the door with her fist.

  
 **Rap, Rap, Rap,** Pause **. Rap, Rap.** Pause. **Rap.** Pause **. Rap, Rap, Rap.**

  
Cassandra waited, rubbing her hands together as she tried to warm them from the horrible winter weather. It brought back memories from five years ago when the Briarwoods had massacred her family and she lost her older brother Percival when they had tried to make their break for freedom. Cassandra shook her head, cleaning her thoughts to realise this was not the time to worry about the past, as she tried to knock again.

  
 **Rap, Rap, Rap** , Pause. **Rap, Rap**. Pause. **Rap**. Pause. **Rap, Rap, Rap.**

  
She waited a few moments as she began to feel on edge until she pulled out her lock-picks from her belt pouch. Taking a quick glance around, Cassandra began to pick the lock, spending a few minutes working out the mechanisms before she let out a quiet cheer of triumph as the door clicked open as the locks released. Cassandra pocketed her lock-picks before drawing her daggers, cautiously placing a hand on the door to gently open it. She didn't feel the door resist or catch on anything dangerous but resisted the urge to let her guard down as she entered the home.

  
The rogue didn't need to enter the room to notice that something was off. A trail of blood led down to a room on her right but the smell of rotten dead flesh searing her nose indicated that this did not bode well. Sneaking her way through, she noted discarded paperwork covered in blood spatters but was distracted by muttering coming from the room nearby. She tightened the grip on her daggers as she approached to peer into the room. There Cassandra noticed a black shadowy mass encroaching a limp body on the opposite wall.

  
"So hungry....kill...." a taunting voice growled and hissed before the mass suddenly turned around to fire a blast at Cassandra. The blast missed her by mere inches as it created a hole in the hinge then ricocheted into the wall behind her. Without hesitation, Cassandra peered from the corner and threw her daggers at the mass. One missed the mass and clattered to the ground beside it but the other struck true hearing the mass gurgle in pain.

  
The mass retaliated with another blast which caught Cassandra off guard by slamming into her shoulder and pushing her back into the wall behind her. Before she had time to register the pain the mass charged her, slamming it's full weight shoulder first into her chest. She cried in agony but knew she didn't have the time to assess the damage when she caught the mass swinging towards her head. By pure chance she brought her hand up in time to block the blow aiming for her head to grasp what seemed to be a hand as she used it's momentum to propel it away from her.

  
Recovering, it swung around firing another blast which caught Cassandra in the leg and she dropped to her knees favouring the one that had been shot but nonetheless drew two small daggers from her boot to quickly fire them at the mass as it towered over her now.  
Both hits struck her opponent and the mass of smoke seemed to shrink to reveal a nightmarish ghoul-like figure of average height wearing a a raven like mask covering it's face as gloved hands clutched at it's chest where two daggers had found purchase in it's abdomen between its armour. One hand then moved to hold a firearm at her head but even Cassandra could see the hand shaking violently, fighting itself for some reason.

  
"Cass...an...dra.." the voice growled from the mask though muffled Cassandra could her familiarity in the voice. The figure twitched above her as she noticed the smoke returning to slip around the gun and it's hand.

  
_How the hell did it know her name?_

  
"No..." the voice moaned and Cassandra felt her blood run cold when the voice seemed to vocalise the nagging feeling in the back of her head, which had been screaming at her.

  
"No!" the voice shouted, reeling back as Cassandra took her chance to reach above her, grasping at the wrist to slam it hard into the wall beside them. There was a yelp of pain and the firearm clattered to the floor and the figure automatically lashed out, kicking her in the chest causing her to drop flat to the ground, grimacing in pain. She crawled to her feet only to see the figure fleeing the house, the gun she had disarmed from it discarded on the floor still.

  
Pain rattled through Cassandra's body as she leant against the wall, propping her weight so she could scramble into her belt pouch. Producing a potion she uncorked it with her mouth, spitting it out as she did so and guzzled it, the warm fuzzy feeling entering her body as she felt renewed with strength for now as her wounds closed over.  
Feeling well enough to move she tested putting weight on her legs and found she was able to hold her own for now, she approached the limp dead body of what Cassandra could only assume was the remains of Asum's contact. The man or what was left of him looked to be young in his early thirties possibly, wearing a now bullet riddled black cloak with simple clothing beneath it, slumped against the wall with blood spatters indicating he had backed against the wall before being killed and his body had slumped down leaving the blood smears.

  
Reluctantly, Cassandra began to search his body for any documents that may unearth the identity of the ancient entity she may have just encountered. She pulled out from the mans' breast pocket a small parchment detailing the misdemeanors that had been occurring in Whitestone, while on the bottom of the letter there was a scrawny message written in a rush.

  
_Cover has been blown. Will try to wait it out until Emon's contact arrives._

  
_If I don't make it, then I hope this information serves them well._

  
_D._

  
"I'm so sorry I didn't arrive sooner." Cassandra whispered, closing the man's eyes before searching the rest of the house for more documents. She managed to scrounge up additional documents the contact had hidden, before she gathered from a hidden weapon's cache a small pouch filled with throwing daggers and a belt with two long knives. Equipping herself with the new items and supplies she made one last check around the house before exiting the house cautiously.

  
Quickly she darted across the road to the shadows of the alleyway, pausing at the edge for any sign of being followed, before making her way down the street nearer to the castle to one of the nearby safe houses marked out on the map she had.   
A blizzard had hit the town now and she was finding it hard to progress through the streets as the snow had begun to build up across the cobblestones. Nonetheless she kept moving, not wanting to be caught out in the streets alone with that figure again. Eventually she located the safehouse and rapped on the door only to be surprised when it creaked open at her touch in an instant.

  
"Quickly! Inside!" a low voice whispered a hand motioning for her to enter and she did so though was apprehensive when the door slammed shut,  forcing her to move into the room to see in the candle light.

  
An older human woman with ginger hair dressed similar to Cassandra, came around her as she searched the windows for any sign of Cassandra being followed, pulling the curtains closed and entered the dim candle light.

  
"Who are you?" the woman asked, keeping her distance for the moment as her hand rested on her hip and Cassandra could see her fingers wrapped around a short-sword on her belt. The two exchanged hand signs and thieves cant before Cassandra felt she could relax when it was confirmed that the older woman was one of Asum's spies.

  
"Good. We have much work to do. I assume you have already been to the rendezvous point?"

  
"Yes and was ambushed-"

  
"Shit... he has been accelerating his plans as of late. I don't know where he is getting his information from but if he has located that house then it will be only a matter of time before he finds you here. Don't worry, you can rest here for the night but you will need to press on for I fear this entity will not rest now it has been seen by you."

  
 "Thank you."

  
"No need to thank me young one. It's not over yet. I will show you to your makeshift quarters for now."

Cassandra followed the woman down the stairs to the basement where a small bed chamber had been set up for emergencies. It was simple but was all one would need if they were forced to hide in the house for a short while. While Cassandra still felt on edge from the earlier encounter she had no choice but to momentarily trust the older woman whom showed her to the quarters before bidding Cassandra goodnight even if it was still early evening.

  
Cassandra waited until she heard the woman's footsteps disappear up the steps and crawled onto the bed shaking. Any adrenaline she may have had now dissipated causing her to feel the cold immediately, pulling the covers around her to warm herself. The images of the nightmarish entity still fresh in her mind as she gingerly pulled the documents she had from her breast-pocket and began to read through them.

  
From what she could gather from the information, just shortly after the Briarwoods took control of the Castle Whitestone strange rumors of a dark entity haunting the castle emerged. At first it had been shrugged off as mere hearsay but when tales of murders and screams began to stream through the town it became clear that something had happened. Bodies had been arising from the dead and wandering the main streets of Whitestone in the middle of the day. Positive identification had been made on several occasions of the wandering people to be servants and guardsmen whom had been working at the castle only a month before. On one occasion the grim discovery of a mutilated corpse had been found on the beaches of Jorenn Village, just south east of Whitestone. Soon more and more tales of zombie bodies and broken bodies filtered through the town as it became apparent that something other than the Briarwoods had taken over.

  
Skimming through the documents, Cassandra found the list detailing the dead that had been identified during the five years this had been going on. She used her finger to filter through any familiar names and was saddened to see several names of servants she recognised from her youth until her finger paused at the small list of royalty whom had also been accounted for.

  
_Fredrickstein Julius von Musel Hinderiks de ROLO - **Dead.**_   
  
_Johanna Von Matisse de KLOSSOWSKI- **Dead.**  
_   
_Julius Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de ROLO - **Dead.**  
_   
_Vesper Johanna Von Musel Klossowski de ROLO - **Dead.**  
_   
_Percival Frederickstein Von Musel Klossowski de ROLO - **Unknown presumed dead, body never recovered.**  
_   
_Oliver Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de ROLO - **Dead.**  
_   
_Whitney Johanna Von Musel Klossowski de ROLO - **Dead.**  
_   
_Ludwig Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de ROLO - **Dead.**  
_   
_Cassandra Johanna Von Musel Klossowski de ROLO -_ **Alive, last known location was Emon.**

  
She brought her hand up to her mouth in shock feeling that similar cold feeling creep up into her chest as her body began heaving as tears slipped down her cheeks. She had hoped by some miracle that her family would be alright but she realised she had just been kidding herself into pushing on and now that it had been confirmed she could no longer hold back her own emotions.

  
_Mother, Father, Brother and Sisters... all gone... and she was the only-_

  
"Wait!" she exclaimed more to herself than anyone else as she re-read the list of names until her hand paused on one name in particular.

  
_Percival Frederickstein Von Musel Klossowski de ROLO - **Unknown presumed dead, body never recovered.**_

  
"Unknown presumed dead, body never recovered?"

  
Images of the night of their escape came through remembering hearing her brother cry in agony and fall to the floor with arrows sticking out of his back. Remembering she had continued on to run fearful she would be next, her legs carrying her out of sight into the mountains of Alabastor Sierras.

  
_Could he still possibly still be alive?_

Cassandra's heart skipped a beat at the thought that he may still be alive and possibly in hiding from that night. She frantically began searching for documents about the lack of body but there was little information concerning his possible whereabouts.

  
"Damn it..." she cursed, rubbing her eyes in annoyance before she sighed to settle in for the night. At least she had hope that at least one sibling may have survived the Briarwoods and she clung to that hope as she let sleep overtake her.


	2. Dreams of the Demon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After surviving an attack by the demon, Cassandra Johanna Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo has taken refuge with one of Asum's contacts. She resolves herself to make contact and find more leads about the situation in Whitestone Castle but something at the Sun Tree brings her attention that there may be some light in the darkness but it may not be what she expected it to be.

Cassandra dreamt of her past when she had been a child, laughing and playing with her siblings while her mother and father watched on from afar. In her dream it seemed to change as it merged with the night her family was murdered, the adults around her screaming or manically laughing as some fell to the floor around her. She could almost smell the rotting flesh searing from the bodies as it infiltrated her nose causing her to gag.

The dreamed changed to an image of Lord Silas Briarwood towering over her in a makeshift throne of the bodies of her family, their skeletons contorted as hands clasped one another to create it. Flesh seemed to be sewn to create what seemed like furnishing for the throne as she could feel the bile rising in her throat as she glanced up at throne to instead of it being Silas, her brother Percival sat in his place with a horrifying smirk on his face. Beside him on either side stood Silas and Delilah Briarwood, their hands placed on each shoulder as Percival remained with his owns hands clasped together as all three grinned back at her.

"Cassandra...." her brother's voice menacingly hissed between his teeth, now beginning to rise from the throne to step down towards her. Out of instinct she backed away on all fours, crawling as fast as she could backwards but it seemed that her brother only had to take several steps to catch her. He reached down to grasp the front of her tunic, pulling her up to be level with him as her own feet dangled in air.

She could see heavy bags under his eyes hidden under his glasses, while his eyes looked like they had sunken back into his skull. His once brown hair had turned a shocking snow white not unlike her own after losing her family but she had only traded a few strands. He also looked horrifically gaunt, as his coat seemed baggier than usual as it hung from his shoulders but he seemed to have some strength behind that seemed un-natural.

"Remember...." he whispered as he pushed her away and she seemed to be falling into darkness, the throne becoming smaller as she fell further and further. She awoke with a start only to find the older woman who had taken her in, backing away in alarm as she held onto her short-sword again in panic.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you...." Cassandra rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she squinted in the sudden light coming from an oil lamp the woman held.

"You were mumbling in your sleep." Cassandra groaned, she had hoped she wouldn't be having those sorts of dreams anymore but it seemed her return had also brought back the onset of the nightmares.

"My apologies, my lady."

"No need to apologise. You are not the first to experience nightmares while in Whitestone and I suspect you won't be the last until we stop this ancient entity."

"Do you know much about this entity?"

"Only that it rarely ventures out of the castle and when it does, bodies seem to appear in its wake."

"You wouldn't happen to know how far it ventures out? If there are any limits?"

"Unknown but I can only assume it travels the entire length of Whitestone due to the body count recently."

"Damn..."

"You'd best be heading off for I fear the entity will not be far."

"Yes, you are right." Cassandra began grabbing her things into a makeshift bag with tools, rations and water skins as she shoved a ration down her throat quickly. The woman retreated upstairs, presumably to check to see if there was anyone watching the house. Cassandra eventually made her way upstairs and found the woman seemingly now peering from the curtains before she turned back to Cassandra.

"You should be safe for now." The woman handed Cassandra a replacement coat which she was grateful for before the woman moved away from the door as Cassandra pulled the coat around her, buttoning it before turning to the woman.

"I never did ask. What was your name, milady?"

"Names are not something we should get into for I fear we are nothing but pawns in a long game."

"Fare thee well, milady. May Pelor cast his gaze and watch over you in these dark times."

"May Pelor rise and watch over us both." The woman bowed before Cassandra hurriedly opened the door and rushed out as the woman closed it swiftly behind her. Quickly Cassandra consulted her map even as the wind picked up, the gale of wind forcing her to shuffle in the snow as the map ruffled in the wind. The map detailed the three noble houses that had pledged themselves to the Briarwoods since the take over and Cassandra took note to avoid them as they would recognise her on sight.

Remembering the list of the dead that had been collected she noted that the masters of each house had been noted missing besides Doctor Anna Ripley whom had been noted as taking up residence in the castle not long after the take over. Knowing it would be empty Cassandra pocketed the map, pulling the hood over her head and made her way towards the previous countesses residence, her feet sliding in the snow.

Her path took her near the Sun Tree again as Cassandra darted between alleys and the shadows, mingling with the few emerging civilians as they began their day. She couldn't risk being seen by them now as she feared they would alert the Briarwoods to her presence. She looked ahead and noticed a group of peasants crowded around the Sun Tree blocking her view from whatever was there.

Cautiously Cassandra moved to the group, gently pushing her way to get a better view until she suddenly stopped in her tracks when her eyes caught sight of multiple hanging severely burnt dead bodies and her nose caught whiff of the pungent smell of burnt flesh. As she managed to move closer she noted multiple gashes and burns along each dead corpse, indicating that they each had been tortured prior to being murdered. A sign hung from one of the corpses and she automatically held her hand to her mouth in shock.

**_Here lie the former tyrants Ser Kerrion Stonefell, Duke Negmeir and Professor Anders._ **

_Was someone taking justice on those that had helped take over the castle five years ago?_

The familiar cold chill hit Cassandra, the hairs on her neck standing on end and she realised that the residents were now moving away, avoiding the Sun Tree as much as possible now. Moving away from the Sun Tree as well she watched as a familiar stranger talk in hushed tones with another as they made their way towards The Lady’s Chamber.

Curiosity seemed to pique as Cassandra began to follow the stranger into the room and it seemed she had followed the rest of the townspeople whom were now huddled together in the pews. Cassandra took an empty spot in the middle of the room in one of the pews which at one end had a family of three clinging to one another and at the other a large family not too unlike her own were huddled together as the parents tried to hush the children as they played. Cassandra watched as the two strangers walked up the aisle before one of the men peeled off to sit at the front as the other made his way to the front podium which had been set up.

“I’ve never seen the Keeper looking this worn before.” Cassandra heard a woman whisper behind her and as Cassandra glanced at the man she could see the man in a long grey robe pull his hood back to reveal his receding white hair and moustache which managed to mask some of the wrinkles and frowns.

He began to deliver a sermon to the frightened people "This land was once cherished as a burning light and beacon of good existence of kinship, of honesty and loyalty. Dragged down to the muck by the inquisition of darkness. The return of the evil that once scourged this land. Now given new faces, they push us down and as hope crumbles the light peaks through once again whispers that have come to my ears friends. That this unrest now has a name. I'm sure you've seen it. The fire atop that building. You watched as one of your oppressors was cut from his high throne. One of his close advisors scarred, tortured shown the strength of this hidden ally of us. The oppressed people of Whitestone. I have come to believe that perhaps this is the time for us to band together and show our support. Now the information is still vague but just keep your eyes open, be careful, be quiet. And as things progress word will find you." The crowd murmured prayers under their breath and slowly began shuffling from the room, corralling children in their wake even as they tried to play fight. Watching the crowd slowly leave her eyes caught the two men whom had previously walked in now talking quietly at the altar.

Cassandra slowly approached the two men talking, recognised one of the men as being Archibald Desnay, the previous caretaker of the library in Whitestone Castle and quietly remembering the words her brother had taught her in Celestial repeated the ending passage.

"By the guidance of the lady, a civilization will flourish and those that keep progression at bay be squashed beneath our feet." The man slowly turned and his eyes went wide in shock even as a smile grew through his cracked lips. Keeper Yennem sensing this was a private moment excused himself to make rounds of the church.

"Oh my. Cassandra, I had thought you for dead." Archibald moved to close the distance and hugged the woman for the first time in five years. She went stiff at first the feelings of the previous days events still putting her on edge until she relaxed and for the first time she allowed her guard to drop as she wrapped her own slender hands around the ailing man.

"Surprise?" Cassandra supplied and Archie chuckled in response before he pushed her back by the shoulders, now trying to get a better look of her.

"Time has not been kind to us, has it Archie?" Archie shook his head with a grim smile, reaching out to gently stroke her white streaked hair.

"No it has not young child. It seems we have both been through a fair bit in the past five years." Archie guided Cassandra to take a seat beside his in the hidden room, the door creaking startling the two momentarily as Keeper Yennem entered the room after finishing rounds around the place.

"Have you had any word on my brother? Percival? It states in the records that he has been declared missing?" Archie shook his head, rubbing at his weary eyes with a heavy sigh before he regarded her once again.

"When we heard about the death of your family we had assumed you had both been taken. But then word came that you two had escaped there had been hope that you had survived but time eventually took its toll on our belief and we assumed you had both perished without a trace. But you are here now and that is all that matters for the moment, we finally have a De Rolo back in Whitestone."

"What of this entity?"

"I have only seen him in passing over the past five years. It had first appeared not long after the Briarwoods had taken over the castle and had started visiting the noble houses, presumably giving it to those whom had aided in the takeover. It escorted the couple to each house, never straying too far but it did occasionally pause only for Lord Briarwood to turn and beckon it forward. It sometimes drifted through the town alone while the Briarwoods were away on business and seemed to stay near the Sun Tree, laying flowers of all the strangest things to do and would just stare at it for a while before retreating. Most knew to keep their distance out of fear of retribution and it mostly left the townsfolk alone unless ordered by the Briarwoods to scare those they thought may be thinking about a revolution." Archie paused, reaching for the glass of water that Keeper handed to him whom he nodded in thanks to as he took a quick sip before continuing.

"Then just a month ago we heard news of an assassination attempt on the Briarwoods by Asum's agents which sadly failed and they quickly retreated to the castle, keeping their entity close for protection. It was a week later that the bodies began to appear and rumors begun to come forward that the Briarwoods had lost control of the entity."

“Do you think that this entity could be trying to murder those involved in helping the Briarwoods?”

“It’s entirely possible but it seems now it’s unable to tell the difference between the threats which is why we have been losing agents.”

“Which explains why I found it towering over one of Asum’s dead spies.”

“You’ve seen it?”

“I briefly tousled with it before it managed to injure me and escape.”

“You were lucky to escape.”

“I do believe I was but what troubles me is that it knew me, Archie. It knew my name and it hesitated.”

"That is interesting." Archie put a hand to his lips, shaking his hand against it as he went deep into thought.

‘It could very well be an entity possessed by the spirits of the De Rolo family.” Cassandra felt the colour drain from her face and she forced herself to grip onto the altar in front of her, the dream now surging forward again.

“Percival…” she choked under her breath and Archie gently rubbed the woman’s back in comfort as she tried to settle her breathing.

‘Child? What do you mean by Percival? Does he yet live?” Cassandra swallowed evening out her breathing before regarding the man standing beside her.

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since the day we escaped. I had hoped he had made it to you or some safe haven but…it just makes sense that it would be his soul trapped inside that entity.”

“This is indeed interesting news. You said you have been having dreams?” Cassandra nodded even as she wrung her hands together and Archie collected her hands in his as she lifted her head to regard the older man.

‘This could be nothing or it could mean darker things are at fault here. Tread lightly in dreams my child for we do not know if these dreams are real or not. We should wait; Asum has sent a band of mercenaries to help combat this after sending the Briarwoods with their tails between their legs back to Whitestone Castle. They should arrive in the next couple of days or so and I do believe one of their group is a cleric whom may be able to shine some light on these troubling dreams.”

“Take some time to rest my child. You can use this room as safe lodgings.” Cassandra nodded numbly not knowing quite what to do with herself. It would take a couple of hours before Cassandra felt comfortable enough to make an area her own once she had been shown the room properly by Keeper Yennem. She had no need to really sleep but felt instantly drained by the service, she figured a few hours rest would do no harm before she decided to venture out to investigate further.

She had snuggled under a ratty blanket she had been provided and her eyes were just sliding close when a door creaking nearby startled her. Cassandra instantly drew her daggers from her belt where she had sat trying to fall asleep, quietly pulling the blanket free of her legs so she could crawl forward. The two men whom had been guarding her had also decided to get some rest as she tiptoed past them, their quiet snoring an indication that they had not awoken to the noise. She snuck as quietly as she could to peer between the crack of the door hiding her from any intruders in the chapel.

She could just make out a cloaked figure standing at the altar and she could just make out snow-white hair. Her stomach dropped like a bottomless pit and her mouth went dry as she saw the figure drop down out of view.

_There was no way... this had to be a dream. This wasn’t possible but I had dreamt about him hadn’t I?_

She couldn’t make out what the figure was saying from this spot, she could only hear a quiet voice mumbling under their breath. She gently pushed the door open, cringing when the door caught a rusted part of the hinge and squeaked loudly. The figure abruptly leapt to their feet, pulling the hood up in one swift movement and rushed from the chapel, leaving no trace that they had been there besides the dust that had lifted due to it’s fast movement.

Moonlight had began to glow and it glittered off the dust particles creating a shimmering effect in the middle of the room down the aisle and Cassandra wondered for the briefest moment if she had imagined the figure but pinching her skin seemed to confirm the reality.

_It could’ve been anyone. It could’ve been someone who just simply looked like Percy. But there weren’t many people with snow-white hair unlike herself with highlights of white in her own deep chestnut locks. It could’ve just been an elderly man for all she knew._

Cassandra chuckled to herself about this shaking her head as she did so for freaking out over someone coming in to privately pray.

‘Come on, Cass. Get a hold of yourself.” She gently smacked her face before returning to the hidden room to get some rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the very very very late update, I have been procrastinating over this for a while wondering if I should bother finishing it. I am slowly working through this, slowly but surely I will finish it eventually :P

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks to Mercer and @rooksnook65 on twitter for the map of Tal'Dorei and @paujohnl for the amazing genealogy of the de Rolo family.
> 
> Also this is what happens when I am bored stuck on a hour train trip to Central Station. Sorry for any mistakes made I was also still jet-lagged while editing this.


End file.
